


An act, just for you

by ThePrimeOne



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Minor Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:13:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24721375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePrimeOne/pseuds/ThePrimeOne
Summary: She would realise in hindsight, that was why she was drawn to him. And why she didn't hesitate when the moment came. Shutting her eyes and bowing slightly, she seized the opportunity.Or, the fake dating Petra/Ashe AU you don't need but are getting anyway.
Relationships: Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert/Petra Macneary
Comments: 6
Kudos: 32





	1. Chapter 1

Ashe scanned the house's front, located at the end of the street, labeled as a no-through road near the bus stop. His eyes stared down at it from afar, where he'd stopped some two houses down. The Stoll's house itself was rather sizeable, a two-story building that had stone pillars framing a verandah and two upstairs windows, which it was otherwise primarily cream coloured on its front, with black tiling on the roof. A large garage door remained closed, and with no car parked in the driveway to indicate anyone was home. Two small gardens with various flora were laid out in the front of the property, separated by the stairs leading to the verandah, where an outdoor swing chair sat next to the house's front door. The home's presentation was nothing short of pristine and perfect, the young man unsurprised by this. Petra and her family- more precisely, she and her mother had moved from Brigid after all. So it was natural that her home would be indicative of a family that bordered on the upper echelons of the middle class into high class to be able to make such a drastic move from one country to another.

He picked up the pace again, inching closer to the driveway as the cool breeze of the early autumn afternoon, a signature sign of the incoming winter that would bring its snowy days and nights upon them, and one that gently hummed through the air around him as if to spur him forth. Nearing the driveway leading towards the house, Ashe fiddled with a small gate that led into the front yard. Closing it slowly behind him, he took one slow step forward, butterflies filling his stomach as he got closer. Ashe clutched his stomach through his jacket pocket and steadied his breathing.

One evening. Ashe just needed to put up an act for one more evening. That shouldn't sound so hard, right? He'd told himself it shouldn't, yet the feelings persisted. 

He perhaps thought it was the fact he'd have to survive meeting a gauntlet of people, both direct and extended family that utterly adored Petra and would no doubt watch him with scrutinizing eyes for the entirety of the night. The occasional light-hearted teasing from Ashe's friend group (separate from Petra's own) that they'd been dating since their first year in high school in secret had come to mind.

He'd always denied it. Though they weren't close by any means, only ever seeing Petra during school hours, the occasional trip into the main city when their friend groups intermingled, and the messages they occasionally exchanged online. Still, he treasured their friendship, something he vocalised as much as Petra did. But in this instance, he wondered, just maybe. Maybe things could be different after this. But ultimately, he hoped that whatever would occur over the next few hours wouldn't change their friendship for the worse.

When his foot hit the verandah's wooden flooring, Ashe swiped the ridiculous thoughts away, merely meters away from the door that would change his life more than he would ever expect. His mouth ran dry, and the butterfly colony in his stomach hit capacity as he lifted an arm towards a small dashboard with buttons attached to the wall, one labeled as the doorbell as he reflected on how on earth he made it to this moment.

.

.

.

"Ashe, can you be helping me?" Petra whispered to her left where Ashe sat, the two of them hiding away in a secluded spot in Garreg Mach's State Library, their mathematics textbooks opened and sprawled out on the table. 

"Hm? What's wrong, Petra?" 

Not the particular question she had in mind to ask him, but a valuable one nonetheless.

Ashe responded with a glance at her, then her workbook. "What can I help you with?"

"Can you explain this to me? I am having much confusion," she asked, pointing to questions he had already solved and moved on to ones substantially more difficult. Ashe took a glance at the problem and muttered it under his breath. His eyes lit up, his pencil already pointing at the textbook for eyes to follow.

Mandatory Fodlanese was something that Petra could understand the need for- after all, it was by and large the most spoken language in most countries. Should she find herself in a position to become a leading figure of sorts regardless of her wishes or father's, the study of such a topic was a necessity. Mandatory mathematics, on the other hand, had stumped her. Petra found it challenging to keep up with her peers, and often wished that headmaster Rhea had never set it as a required subject. The equations printed out on the page in the textbook before Petra always put her on edge, especially during tests.

In Mandatory Fodalnese, there was often room left for interpretation in the many texts that were studied. In a general sense, there was no definitive right answer. 

Mathematics left no wriggle room for an interpretation or an incorrect answer.

Studying the subject became all the more frustrating when she became forced to do so by her mother, after returning home from a trip with her friends at the Rhodos Coast.

Petra took in everything Ashe was saying, who explained how to solve the answers as quietly as possible.

"...And then you'll want to gather all the like terms together like this," he continued, jotting down numbers on the page. "Simplify it; then, you'll end up with your answer," Ashe concluded. She nodded quietly, taking in the method of working out Ashe showed her." Now you try it. Here, try doing… this question here to start with and show me when you've completed it, okay?"

"Okay. I will be giving this my try." She hesitantly gripped her pen, but Ashe's encouragement was enough for her to put it to paper as she read over the problem and began to work her way to the final answer. It was a little tricky, but seeing Ashe do it made her a little more confident in herself, and within a few minutes finished not one, not two, but three questions.

Petra felt a little bit of pride swell in her chest.

She tapped him on the shoulder, giving him a small jolt. Petra struggled to suppress the giggle that escaped her mouth upon seeing her reaction. "Ashe, please be having my apologies, but can you check this?" she pointed at her workbook. She scooted herself and the book closer to him, waiting patiently as Ashe rhythmically tapped his pencil on the page, leaving small pencil marks on the page. Eventually, his mouth turned up into a glowing smile. "You got it!" he said, giving her thumbs up. "You know, you've really improved from before, Petra!"

Petra nearly flinched in surprise from the genuine compliment, warmth filling her cheeks. "I have understanding, and you have my gratitude, but I am not sure if I have improved that much…"

"I  _ know _ you have Petra," Ashe said a little more firmly. Seeing the librarian in the corner of her eye approach their corner of the room with books in hand, she decided to concede, lest they get in trouble. They continued their studies, and Petra persevered through the work pushing the question she wanted to ask him into the back of his mind. But as time marched on, so did the need to return to their humble abodes, the library closing up five minutes from when they began to gather their belongings.

The affair was a silent one, only to be broken by Petra's question she was so hesitant to ask.

"Ashe," she called out, the young boy turning to her. "Are you free on the first Saturday of the next moon?"

He blinked for a moment, looking to the ceiling in thought. "Yeah, I should be. Why?"

Petra cleared her throat "My… My father and some of my family is coming from Brigid. Mother is wishing to be hosting them at our home on the 7th for a party- for my birthday. I have not been seeing them for a long time now."

Ashe's eyes widened. "Really? That's great, Petra," he says so genuinely that it makes her heart beat a little faster. "But you don't sound so excited about it. Is there something wrong?" he asks curiously, rubbing his chin.

"No… well, yes, a problem has appeared," Petra sighed. "I am thinking that for a lot of time, my father is expecting me to… find someone; to find a partner. A candidate for marriage," she quickly elaborates, not reassured by Ashe's expression remaining unmoved. 

"W-what? A partner? Marriage?" he said, now awestruck after letting her words sink in. "But you're still in high school. Why would he expect that of you?"

If she were sincere, she wasn't sure of the reasons why. Regardless, she wanted to unload unto Ashe the circumstances of her situation. Unfortunately, she'd also promised herself that she would remain sworn to secrecy; that Petra'd never tell him or anyone why she was so concerned about this. She loved her country, she did. She could always remember the image of the beautiful beaches that Fodlan could seldom compare to, outside of the Rhodos Coast and Deirdru, even if the smell of saltwater and sounds of waves crashing had mostly faded from her mind. But the country was not going through the best of times, even seven years on, especially with certain practices still being perfectly legal. Her mother reassured things had turned out for the better, but she wasn't sure of the truthfulness behind her own mother's word.

"I am unsure," she lied through her teeth. "But when I last was speaking to father, I told him I… found someone."

Ashe glanced at her in surprise for a moment. "You did? You don't sound very convincing. Or happy about it."

"I am not, because I was lying to him," Petra laughed hollowly. "And yet, my father- no, my entire family is expecting me to have someone I call 'partner' to meet them." She placed some of the books in her bag and zipped it up. "My mother knows the truth, but I do not want my father to be disappointing in me for lying."

Ashe slung his bag around his back, as did Petra, contemplating everything she told him. "That's… quite a predicament," he furrowed his brows. "But, uh, what does this have to do with me?"

Oh. That. Petra realised that there was no better time than now to take the opportunity to ask him. She didn't answer him, Ashe not opting to ask any further than he thought necessary. As they silently made their way to the library's entrance for a few more moments. She stopped in her tracks, Ashe doing so shortly after and turning his body to face hers.

"Petra? Is there something wrong?" he frowned at her crestfallen expression. Petra gripped the books she held a little harder and snapped her head up to meet his eyes. Those sea-green eyes that always reminded her of home, his gaze occasionally giving her a strange sense of comfort that she didn't feel around even her closest friends.

She would realise in hindsight, that was why she was drawn to him. And why she didn't hesitate when the moment came. Shutting her eyes and bowing slightly, she seized the opportunity.

"Ashe. I want you to be my boyfriend!"

The young boy, unable to dignify her demand with a coherent response, sharply sucked air through his teeth. With a loosened grip on the books, every one fell out his hands and crashed onto the floor.

The only response that came after was from a woman with white hair and streaks of red, the librarian awkwardly clearing her throat. 

"Mr. Ubert. Miss Stoll. Please keep the noise down." Embarrassed, they scrambled to get Ashe's books in order and scurried out of the library. Both of their faces on fire upon realising they had an audience, even if it was just one. With backs planted against the wall just outside the library's entrance, Ashe was the first to break the uncomfortable silence. 

He cleared his throat and hugged his books closer. "Petra, I don't know..." Ashe bit the inside of his lip. "I-I need to gather my thoughts together for a little while," he ungracefully stuttered. "How about we meet at Ubert's tonight? I'll message you later. We can talk about all of, um, this, a little more."

Well, it wasn't a  _ no _ , she realised, almost sighing in relief. The thought made her happier than she initially thought.

"Okay," Petra nodded. "I shall be seeing you then."

Saying their goodbyes, the two parted ways. Petra dashed out towards the school's front gates, harshly berating herself for coming off too strongly, and Ashe groaning, embarrassed at his fumbled response as he collapsed onto a nearby table. Their faces remained running rampant with red, and their hearts beating out of their chests as they ruminated on the question that inadvertently changed their friendship forever.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Petra and Ashe have a little chat about her proposal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been sitting on this update for a while, my bad.

Petra pulled the phone out of her pocket and took a peek at the time as her phone's screen lit up to reveal a picture from her trip to the Rhodos Coast. Edelgard, Ferdinand, Hubert, Bernadetta, Dorothea, Linhardt, and Caspar- her primary friend group amongst others in her grade and above huddled together under a large beach umbrella for a selfie during a school-sanctioned trip to the Rhodos Coast.

It always brought a smile to her face, recalling the recent memories and bonds she'd made with others. She first had what Linhardt had called a 'D&M'- a 'Deep and Meaningful' with one Ashe Ubert under the starry Fodlan night sky, where unlike the city of Garreg Mach, most of the stars she recognised from home were seen. The familiar sound of waves crashing against the sand and the saltwater's smell in the air reinvigorated old memories to resurface. It had happened rather suddenly, yet she still remembered every moment, as if etched into her mind with a permanent marker.

Their ensuing conversation was quite eye-opening.

Her eyes flickered to the digital clock. 7:28, the time read in small, bold letters. Just two minutes out from the time they were to meet, sliding the phone into her jeans' pocket with the sound of crickets being the only thing to keep her company as she strolled towards the restaurant in the city center amongst the bustling crowd. She pulled her red cardigan tighter around herself as a cool breeze swept through the city despite the season. Her mother had advised her to wear more layers of clothes knowing they weren't accurately accustomed to the cold, being born in Brigid, but Petra had assured her she'd be fine, something she was now second-guessing.

A few moments passed, and a familiar figure in the distance standing on the corner of a street came into view, staring down at his phone. The tuft of messy silver hair that seemed to shine under the neon sign's light at the restaurant's window was a relief to see. Petra picked up the pace and made it to the entrance of Ubert's in no time. Ashe focused on his phone and didn't notice her presence as she walked up to him and cleared her throat to gain his attention. The boy's head snapped up, with his eyes directed its gaze towards her. He immediately shoved his phone in his pocket like he had something to hide.

"Oh, Petra!" Ashe's voice cracked in surprise, forcing a blush to fill his face. "I uh, didn't see you there."

"It is good to be seeing you, Ashe," Petra giggled at his surprised expression. A shiver running through her from the cool breeze that started to pick up made her more anxious to get inside. She felt a little envious that Ashe had a jacket on, and annoyed by her past self for underestimating the cold weather. The temptation to ask him if she could wear it had come to mind, quickly putting the strange thought back from wherever it appeared. After all, they were only staying in Ubert's for the evening; something Ashe seemed to remember with a rough cough into his elbow. 

He motioned for the door, pulling it open and holding it in place. "Let's get inside before we freeze." He motioned for her to walk inside, and Petra smiled.

"You have my gratitude, kind gentleman," Petra bowed slightly with a giggle that was reciprocated by Ashe, brightening their moods, yet an unspoken feeling of nervousness mutually felt between them; more so from Ashe than Petra. They stepped forth into the warm air that circulated through the restaurant. The eatery was bustling with life as any restaurant in the city center did on a Friday night. Various people gathered there that night, taking up the spots in the different chairs and tables were strewn about wherever it could fit while still leaving ample room to move around.

It was a restaurant that came from humble beginnings with Ashe's parents at the helm, and with great work and earned success, lifted Ashe's family out of poverty. A homeless beggar to having a roof over his head at night and half-decent food on the dinner table. From an elementary school dropout to getting above-average grades in his second year of high school. Though Petra wasn't privy to details of his past, she knew that he wasn't proud of some of the things he'd done to help his family get where they were; but she took solace in the fact that she saw some pride swell within Ashe whenever the boy stepped foot into the restaurant.

And if she were, to be honest, Petra felt it too when she looked back and saw his smile brighten, looking around at the restaurant's interior. Ashe's parents had done so much to get him and his siblings back on their feet, to give them a future where they could be happy. She'd comforted and reassured him when he found himself rather emotional about it, more often than not.

As she took her first steps in with Ashe behind her, the register by the door was occupied by a familiar face, who was directing a couple through paying their tab, thanking them for their patronage as their backs turned towards the doors. The green-haired youth blinked for a moment at the two of them before his mouth turned up into a smile. 

"Oh! Ashe! Petra! Good evening! Fancy seeing you two here," he announced enthusiastically, snatching up a table stand with the number '21' in the rings at the top.

"It is good to be seeing you, Ignatz," Petra maintained her smile, with Ashe nodding next to her. 

"Likewise," Ashe agreed. "How goes the business for tonight?" he asked the waiter, who shrugged. 

"I suppose it could be better. We're down a cook in the kitchen tonight, so it's slowed things down, but we're working through it. It helps Dedue's powering through orders more so than usual." Ignatz reassured him to Ashe's evident relief. 

"Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Mercedes had something to do with it," he commented off handily. Speeding past said comment before Petra or Ashe had a moment to ask, he fixed his glasses and cleared his throat. "But enough about that- I assume you two are being joined by others tonight? How many?"

Ashe shook his head. "No. Just us two tonight."

"Ah, fair enough then!" Ignatz said unassumingly without flinching, only to be betrayed by the curious look he spared for them as he snagged two menus and motioned for them to follow. Petra knew Ignatz was incredibly intelligent, and probably saw right through the facade of calm they tried to maintain. Led to a table, each side remained unoccupied, long cushioned chairs that could fit three- perhaps four people on it with a window view into the cold city outside.

"Can I get anything for you two to start? Of course, any drinks besides the water provided," Ignatz questioned, pointing to the jug and cups at the table. Ignatz's brown eyes looked between them after they took their seats, Petra glancing curiously at Ashe as he eyed her similarly. Ashe shrugged and looked away.

"Something warm, I guess? Maybe a… medium chai latte?" Ashe replied with a question more than a definitive answer. 

Petra nodded quickly with vigor. "I would like that, also." Ignatz etched down the orders, put the pen on his earlobe, and nodded. Letting them know he'd be back as he scurried off, he the two of them to their own devices. Petra noted his fingers intertwined, his thumbs twiddling. A nervous tic. One that was rather contagious, as most of the little habits he had. She fixed her posture as she was taught to maintain all those years ago, and Ashe cleared his throat.

"So…" Ashe began awkwardly, licking his lips for a second. "How was your afternoon, Petra?"

Small talk. Petra was up for that. The Brigidian girl respectfully smiled at him, her head then tilting to the side, and her gaze directed to the window. What did she even do in the hours between when they'd last met worth even small talk? A jog around the block, chores, skimming through her notes, and the marks she'd received on her finals exams? She cycled through more in her head, none of which was hardly interesting even for small talk. Not for the reasons they'd met together in the first place.

She looked back at him. "It was… okay. I was doing much of nothing," Petra said simply. She had to hold back a giggle when his eyes scrunched up upon hearing her answer. The expression on his face was somewhat… endearing. 

"Nothing?" he questioned her curiously. "I can't imagine you doing nothing. That doesn't seem very, well, you," he stated, surprised.

Petra raised an eyebrow and looked him in the eye. "Oh? And what is that supposed to be meaning, Ashe?" she crossed her arms, her mouth dipping into a frown to further feign irritation. Ashe froze for a moment, her seemingly sudden mood change taking him by surprise.

"A-ah, I didn't mean anything bad by that if that's what you think, I just meant…" he panicked but soon trailed off when her mouth twitched up into a smile. She attempted to bite down the inside of her lip when Ashe's confused face formed across from her, but ultimately to suppress her laughter when Ashe's face went red; that too, she found endearing.

"Do not worry, Ashe. I am having a joke! I know what you were meaning," she said, her voice full of mirth.

Ashe chuckled, embarrassed, but thoroughly relieved. "Well, I'm glad it was just a joke that went over my head," he chuckled. "You had me concerned there for a second, honestly. I didn't want to upset you or anything."

Petra shook her head. "I am thinking it would be hard for you to make me angry. You are always making me happy," she bubbled without much thought for how her words were interpreted. Such an idea didn't occur to her when a sudden pregnant pause between them as Ashe's mouth hung open slightly. 

Petra felt her eyes widen, and the young girl tried her best to maintain her composure, vainly hoping her face hadn't turned red despite the warmth she felt on her cheeks, wishing nothing more at that moment to somehow, someway turn back the hands of time.

Her classmate blinked back into reality. "Oh," was the lame response that escaped his tongue. "W-well, I'm glad you feel that way." he stammered. "It makes me feel better that your feelings are mutual," he said, grabbing the jug of water between them.

_ Wait. What? _

He held out the jug towards her glass cup. "Water?"

"Yes, please, Ashe," she shook herself out of her daze, watching him fill up their glasses. She let the silence between them settle for a moment, but before she had a moment to ask, Ignatz reappeared seemingly out of nowhere with two appropriately sized cups in a plastic tray.

"Apologies for the wait," he said with a small sigh, passing them both their cups hot with steaming latte. "We would've had these out earlier, but Annette tripped over a barrel… again," he said with a small smile. 

"Please do not have apologies, Ignatz. You were not away long," reassured Petra.

"Well, that's good to hear. Now. Did you two plan on ordering anything else?" the waiter asked them, his pen and paper ready. The two stared down at the listed food in silence for a few seconds longer than Ignatz was comfortable. He cleared his throat and tapped his pen on the back of Ashe's menu. 

"Oh, by the way, there's been a recent addition to the menu, Ashe," Ignatz spoke, cutting through the silence. "It's a small, but special to-share menu for two people. I think it might suit the setting, so to speak," the waiter explained. 

Petra eyed Ashe when he turned the menu around and sat up in immediate concern when he almost choked on the water he was consuming. Reassuring her he was fine, Petra turned the menu over curiously, spurred on by his reaction, only to react in her sheer silence.

_ Two-To-Share Special Couples Menu _

Oh.

With her cheeks unexpectedly turning aflame, Petra's eyes shot up towards Ignatz, who grew concerned at the sudden awkward atmosphere that blanketed the table. If the frown she pulled him didn't send a message (which it did), Ashe cleared his throat and spoke up not a moment later.

"We're uh, not like that," Ashe explained, mutually red in the face.

_ Not yet, maybe _ , they both mumbled in the back of their minds.

"Oh," Ignatz blinked, a great deal of panic rising upon his face. "Oh! M-my mistake! I was under the impression you two were- oh Goddess, who am I kidding, I shouldn't have assumed like that," Ignatz babbled.

Shaking her head, Petra assured him it was okay and dipped her head back into the menu. After a few more moments of delegation, the two chose an assorted sweet treats platter. Pushing through the awkwardness with more small talk and sips of their drinks, Petra was thankful that their food came swiftly, doing her best to ignore the embarrassed smile on Ignatz's face as he left their table.

With food in front of them to satisfy their hunger, they picked apart the platter a piece at a time to ignore the pregnant silence.

Petra cleared her throat as Ashe began chewing on a cookie. 

"Ashe. Do you have thoughts about the idea I was proposing?"

He ate the remainder of the cookie before answer. "...I do," he said simply, yet cryptically. She didn't miss the young boy shifting in his seat. He slumped over a little as he grabbed a piece of a thin sugary biscuit and ate it whole. "Well, firstly, I just have a lot of questions, I think."

Petra sipped her glass of water, feeling her mouth run dry. "I am listening."

"Why?"

Petra tilted her head. "Why what?"

"I still don't understand why you want to go through with this," Ashe tapped the table, staring at his hot cup of Chai Latte. "I get the whole not wanting to disappoint your father thing, but surely he'd understand if you said you weren't  _ actually _ going out with anyone. Or if you really wanted to, you could just say you broke up with your made-up boyfriend before your birthday."

Petra frowned. She knew he had a point from his perspective, but there were things she knew that he didn't. Something that made her nervous for her so-called 'sweet sixteenth' to begin with, which would, in turn, would veer her life in a very different direction than one the Brigidian girl wanted. It wasn't until she befriended people like the boy across from her in their freshman year that she'd believed that things could change. So she supposed it was to be expected that when she came up with such a long shot of an idea, Ashe was the first one who came to mind when she wanted help.

"I have understanding, Ashe. Your concerns are valid. But the reason I am asking is…" Petra trailed off and bit her lip, debating on whether she should say it. She mulled on the thought longer than she thought, her silence turning palpable. "It is hard to explain…"

"Petra, please don't misunderstand," Ashe spoke up in her stead. "I want to help you, I really do, but I- I'm just… scared? No, nervous? Yeah, nervous. I'm nervous that once this is all over, that things will be awkward between us, you know?" Ashe grasped the plastic cup with both hands, the heat keeping his hands stable enough to stop from shivering from the nerves. "You know that I value our friendship. It means a lot to me that you're my friend, and that I can speak my mind with you," Ashe said so sincerely, so warmly like the summer sun she once felt in Brigid that she missed so dearly.

"I don't want to lose what we have." 

Her heart began to beat a little faster.

"But… I think it's worth the risk. There's something personal going on you want to tell me, but can't, or aren't ready to tell me, right? And you did come to me for help, to begin with. So as your friend, I'll trust and help you in any way I can."

Spirits above, she didn't deserve him. He was far too kind for his own good sometimes, especially when she couldn't offer anything in return, but she dare not take advantage of that. She felt a sudden urge to back out, mentally hitting herself for asking him such a thing.

"Ashe," Petra breathed, almost overwhelmed by his sincerity. "That is meaning much to me. You have my gratitude," she thanked him, her smile almost meek. "But now I am not being sure about this. I am sensing I am taking advantage of you. I can not offer anything in return."

The silver-haired boy blinked and scrunched his eyebrows, evidently confused. He took a sip of his drink in silence as did Petra, the cinnamon's taste lingering on their tongues. After contemplating her concern a little more, Ashe's smile returned as sweet as the drink held in their hands.

"You know, now that I think about it, this is all just pretend until the beginning of sophomore year, right? A few weeks shouldn't be so bad," Ashe spoke aloud, questioning her rhetorically. "Would a promise be a little more reassuring? I'm not one to break them either. So if you'll let me, I promise we'll see this through, Petra."

Petra frowned. "You should not make promises so willingly, especially ones of the cookie crumbling variety," the Brigidese girl shook her head.

Ashe failed to suppress a hearty chuckle at her metaphor. "Well, I've made my fair share of cookies that have crumbled before, but I've always bounced back from it. I'm willing to bet my chances on this working out if you are. What do you say?"

A conflicted smile rose on Petra's face. "Are you sure?"

"Petra, we're friends. Friends don't pay each other for the time they spend with each other."

Petra raised an eyebrow. "Then, who is paying for the food if not us?"

The boy blinked, his mouth opening to answer the question, but shutting up promptly to consider it further. "...Touche," Ashe finally responded, thankfully to the amusement of the both of them.

"Though I do have one more question."

"Oh? Please ask me, Ashe," Petra replied curiously.

Ashe leaned his cheek onto his open palm in thought. "Why me?"

"Why you?" she blurted again. Ashe nodded silently to let the question sink for a moment. Petra had lots of friends she could've asked. Cyril, Ignatz, Dorothea, Claude from the class above came to mind, but her mind had always wandered back to her first choice, coming to accept her mind's answer without wondering why. She mused over the question for a few more seconds, but… nothing.

"I… am not sure," Petra said quietly, her gaze and frown directed at the cup she held. "You are the first person my mind sought after. I was thinking of many others after, but…" she blushed, realising how strange it might have sounded. "My mind came back to you."

His eyes widened his face's shade of red matching hers. He cleared his throat and chewed on a sweet cookie to distract himself from how implicative the statement sounded.

"Oh. W-well, that's nice to know, then!" Ashe awkwardly laughed, nervously grasping and breaking the cookie he'd been nibbling on in half.

They looked down at the shattered cookie, Petra covering her mouth to suppress a giggle that Ashe still heard vainly. "That is good- but I am concerned, Ashe. The way you are eating that cookie is like a ghost will steal it."

Ashe groaned immediately, hiding his eyes and part of his cheek with his palm. Petra let out a delighted giggle at his reaction. 

"I thought we agreed never to bring that up again," Ashe pouted. She could hardly resist the temptation to bring up the incident on the trip again- she adored his reactions to the event.

Petra grinned at him, far brighter than any before. "I never said that. I said I will think about it. Besides, your reaction when I said there was a ghost was giving me great amusement."

The boy across the table crossed his arms and looked away, spotting another couple devouring dessert at another table. He scrunched his nose and looked back at Petra. "Petra, look," he nudged his arm out towards the couple. Petra turned her head, and Ashe leaned in. 

"That ice cream looks good, doesn't it? It'd be a shame if they were to drop it-"

Now it was her turn to be embarrassed. She jerked her head back, glaring at him as Ashe smiled innocently. If Ashe had the mouse incident she tease him about, then the ice cream incident was her equivalent.

"I suppose it is only fair you say that," Petra tried to ignore the embarrassment welling up on her face.

"Very fair," Ashe agreed, snagging up a cookie, being sure to eat it in larger bites. "Seeing you drop all that ice cream made me realise that even someone like you can be clumsy sometimes," a chuckle rises from his chest. "The face on the vendor was priceless too."

Petra wondered if that was a half compliment, but let it slide. Moreover, she was glad he was teasing her if anything. She knew that Ashe didn't often tease anyone, even his siblings, in a light-hearted manner. To see him do so with her openly and in a way that wasn't mean spirited was like seeing a little side of him that no one else knew.

It made her feel special.

That and the fact she quite liked it was something she didn't bother trying to unpack.

"Hey."

Petra made eye contact with him again. 

"I didn't make you upset, did I? I'm sorry if I did, Petra." 

The sudden veering of his tone from teasing to concern was so comically quick that Petra snickered. "No, you were not, Ashe. I am not upset."

His concern softened into a relieved smile. "Oh. That's good then."

There was a small lull in their conversation, but it quickly livened up. The sense of normalcy that had set back between the duo made for a comfortable atmosphere. Ashe and Petra downed the rest of their food and drink, conversing about anything they could think of well into the night. Anything from Felix and Annette's strange interactions, Caspar starting a fight that almost got him suspended, Hilda being bothered enough to patch him up, and Lorenz suspiciously falling quite ill for a few days.

As night fell into a deeper dark, Petra frowned upon taking a quick peek at her phone.

"It is already 10:30," Petra blinked at the bold digital numbers.

"Oh. Already? Shall we head out then?" Ashe's eyes widened, moving out from his seat. Petra mirrored Ashe and followed after him. They quickly make their way to the entrance where they meet Ignatz again, who awkwardly smiles at them, before his eyes widen behind his glasses.

"That's right! You guys are free to go. Someone's paid for your order already. They asked to stay anonymous, though," he announced to their surprise. Ashe looked around the restaurant, unable to piece together who it could've been with utter confusion, which morphed into a victorious smile.

"See? What did I tell you?" Ashe smiled happily. "Friends don't pay for the time they- h-hey!!"

Petra sighed in defeat, shaking her head with an amused smile. Saying their goodbyes to Ignatz, she scooped up Ashe's hand and dragged him out of the restaurant, much to Ignatz's confusion. Ashe almost sputtered out an incoherent sentence, face alight with red. He tried to maintain his composure as best he could, relaxing his hand in hers as they waited to board the bus to get home.

Petra huddled closer to him, her hand shaking in his. 

"Are you cold, Petra?" Ashe asked, already reaching for the jacket's zip to take it off.

"No, I am not, Ashe," Petra replied quickly, not enough to stop Ashe from detaching his hand from hers, the young boy taking off his jacket and handing it to her to wear.

"Here. You'll be warmer that way."

"Ashe, you have my gratitude, but I am being okay."

"Your teeth are clattering together," he bluntly points out, and Petra has to stop herself from doing so forcibly. He still pushes it towards her. "Please, Petra? I'll be okay, I promise. I'd hate for you to get sick when I know I can prevent it," he pleaded, looking at her with the dreaded puppy dog eyes. She resisted momentarily, but eventually took his jacket and put it on. It wasn't exactly a snug fit, the coat itself a little loose on her, falling slightly past her hips and hiding half of her hands.

Still, the warmth the jacket provided was near-instantaneous.

"Thank you, Ashe," Petra leaned against his shoulder, her hand brushing past his for another embrace.

Ashe's hand twitched from the contact, but he supposed that such a thing was necessary for their circumstances. He took her hand into his. "It's the least I could do."

The short ride back was mostly spent in silence. Ashe stared down at his phone, internally going haywire at the feeling of Petra's soft hand in his, while Petra put on a stoic face that made her unreadable despite having similar, yet calmer thoughts than Ashe's.

When they arrived, they shyly thanked the bus driver and stepped out into the night once again.

"You said we live close by here, right? I'll walk you home," Ashe said with as much confidence as possible, leaving her no room to argue. While she was confident should anyone suspicious that tried to confront her, she knew a little more time spent with Ashe wouldn't hurt.

"We should get you home as soon as possible since I know you're gonna be quite busy on weekends now. The track team starts their training tomorrow, right?" Ashe looked at her curiously, turning into the street Petra resided.

"Yes," Petra hums. "Being on break has been… strange, but I was managing. I am excited to begin again. And you, Ashe? Is Archery starting early as well? I know Shamir was pushing for that, yes?"

"Yeah, something like that," Ashe nodded. "Though, we're starting a little later. Shamir seems a bit bitter that the track team got to start earlier. She and one of your coaches-Catherine, I think her name is-have always had a bitter rivalry, at least on the surface, haven't they?"

Petra chuckled at the question. As someone that knew Shamir when she still resided in Brigid, she grew up being one of the few people to notice the things that made Shamir' tick', so to speak, especially around her late partner.

Despite insinuating otherwise, Catherine ticked all of those boxes.

"On the surface, yes. But there is something more, as I'm sure you are knowing."

"Well, even Shamir isn't exactly subtle about it sometimes- which is surprising because this is  _ Shamir _ we're talking about," Ashe's smirked, evidently amused. Petra looked at him curiously at how Shamir would let her guard down in such a way- or perhaps he too picked up on her subtle tics.

A quiet hush came over their conversation, Petra tugging her hand warped in Ashe's towards a large house, a small light illuminating the front door. He couldn't see the house in its entirety in the dark- but Petra certainly lived in a moderately lavish home from a first glance. 

"Well, I shouldn't keep you up too long," the young boy turned his fake-girlfriend. She nodded, an awkward silence falling over them before long. "I, um, hope you had a good night," he desperately said, attempting not to have the night end so awkwardly. 

"I was Ashe. You have my gratitude," she bowed, thanking him.

"You don't have to do that," Ashe blurted out, the plum haired girl looking at him curiously. 

"Oh? I do not?"

"No! Uh, not at all," Ashe cleared his throat. "Y'know, since we're just pretending to be a thing, we should at least make it look like we're together-together, but also not together? Just little things like that. don't know how to explain it, but- ah!" 

During Ashe's rambling, Petra took the initiative and stepped forward to envelop Ashe's torso in a sudden, yet welcomed warm hug. Ashe flinched at the intimate action but quickly reciprocated the hug, enveloping her in his arms and warmth as she did him.

"Is this being suitable?" she whispered, so close to his ear. She earned a bashful hum from Ashe. To both of their surprise, she hugged him a little tighter and melted into the hug some more, Ashe's face glowing with crimson when he  _ swore _ he heard a warm purr escape her lips, feeling her warm breath on his neck.

She sealed her lips when he pulled her closer. Ashe was unaware she froze up in sheer embarrassment from letting out such a strange, and perhaps scandalous sound.

_ But it's nice being so close to him, is it not? _ A thought taunts her, and Petra decided to break off the hug, further ignoring that she was disappointed it had to end so soon.

"Well. That was, um, nice," Ashe looked at the ground bashfully. 

Petra looked away to the front door. "I… must agree. But I must be getting inside. My mother may be worrying for me."

"Oh. Well, that's fair. So, I'll see you soon? Maybe?" Ashe rubbed the back of his neck.

Ashe's head snapped up, seeing Petra approach the gate, leaping over it instead of trying to fumble for the gate's lock in the dark. She spun on her heels and met his eyes again. The light behind her made her look quite… ethereal, her eyes twinkling like stars. It was a strangely breathtaking sight.

"You will," she affirmed. "Good night, Ashe."

"Yeah. Good night, Petra."

She turned her back to him and retreated to the door, opening it slowly, she turned back to see Ashe standing there, ever the gentleman he was, making sure she'd make it inside. She waved at him, and he waved back, Petra stepping inside. With the door closed quietly, Petra marched straight to her room, kicked off her shoes, and fell onto her bed. The young girl drifted off to sleep, warmer that night than she'd felt in a long time.

.

.

.

It wasn't until the morning after that they realised Petra was still wearing, and happily clutching his jacket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that was worth the wait for anyone that was waiting? I've been feeling a little more motivated to write ever since I finished this chapter and forgot about it ages ago, so hopefully if I get around to chapter 3 I'll have something soon, and not a month and a half later lol
> 
> Kudos and comments are appreciated as usual! And if you're reading this, I hope you have a good day.
> 
> P.S Go follow Soak's twitter if you haven't already (@cozysoak)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After arriving home from his not-date with Petra, Ashe has a talk with Christophe.

Ashe was sure no one would notice his lack of a jacket when he arrived home. After all, it hadn't even clicked that he left without it until he'd walked halfway between his bus stop and his humble abode. He glanced down at his phone, screen brightly shining in his face. 

11 PM, it read.

A little later than he'd like, but at least his siblings should be asleep. Ashe felt a small shiver run throughout his body, the cold air finally starting to get the best of him. Pushing off his heels into a dash, he quickly found his way home through the dark streets, walking down the driveway towards a house much less lavish on the outside than the one he had recently had a glimpse of. Shoving his hand in his pockets and rummaging for the keys, he pulled out the small item attached to a chain and unlocked the front door.

Upon stepping inside, he comes to two realizations immediately. 

One, the house was warm. Thank goodness, because Goddess knows that the cold was starting to get to him, his body no longer used to the weather after moving to the city-state of Garreg Mach, where less harsh winters chilled the air compared to Faerghus' own.

Two that usually meant Christophe was awake. And an awake Christophe often suggested…

Ashe sighed and braved the journey to the kitchen, in desperate need of water. He quietly plodded along the hallway, not making eye contact with his cousin as he passed the living room. 

"Hey, Ashe," a tired Christophe called out to him, almost surprising the young boy momentarily properly structured speech.

"Evening, Christophe," Ashe responded quietly, staring into the fridge to find the bottle of cold water and snagging it out the shelf.

Wanting to think about literally anything else, Petra leaped to the forefront of his mind again, wondering about his jacket. He supposed it didn't matter if he didn't have it. It was a personal keepsake of sorts, but so long as he could get it back, Ashe was sure it was in good hands.

"Ashe."

While many of his friends had told him that romantic relationships were nothing like what is usually depicted on TV, the trope of boyfriends sharing jackets with their girlfriends wasn't exactly uncommon in various stories he read and TV shows he watched on the down-low.

And Petra had happily accepted his offer, after all, they did kind-of-sort-of make it official, but not really? 

Pouring water into a cup and downing it quickly, Ashe poured out another.

"Ashe."

And Petra-and everything surrounding their situation-felt oddly surreal. He never could've imagined being a fake boyfriend, or anything beyond a friend to Petra. The thought was… almost pleasant. Almost. 

Ashe frowned, tapping away at the bench. His thoughts were almost entirely muddled, confused by the situation in hindsight. Petra is-or was-his friend? He wanted to help Petra as her friend, that much was true. But being in a fake relationship certainly muddied things a little. He usually wasn't one to lie, but he was both willing and not willing to do so.

Ashe recalled the hug and how his face glowed bright red in the night and the knot that formed in his stomach. But knowing that their supposed relationship was just a fake didn't sit right with him. He thought, in a way, he didn't want to help her.

Then again, he did, in a way, friendzone her- but was that selfish of him? Even after making that promise to her so eagerly?

"Dammit," Ashe grumbled, unable to coherently put his thoughts together.

"Ashe!"

The confused, contradictory thoughts dispersed from his mind, Ashe shaking them off, frustrated that he'd second-guessed himself so soon. The boy looked up to meet Christophe's gaze. The older man's hand was holding a half-eaten burger over a flattened Mcdonald's bag in his lap like a napkin from one of those fancy restaurants in the inner city that Felix's father, Rodrigue, owned on top of his storied career in the Seiros Security Force.

"Yes? Is there something wrong, Christophe?" Ashe asked, his voice strained.

Christophe tilted his head, his expression somewhere between confused and curious- perhaps both. "Did you have a good time tonight? You certainly don't look like it."

"Oh! Um, yes, I did," he automatically responded. "I've just got a lot on my mind, is all."

Christophe hummed and bit into his burger again, savoring each bite as he usually did. It made Ashe crack a smile seeing his cousin eat so strangely.

"Man, that is good," Christophe grinned, wiping some sauce off the side of his mouth and licking off his finger. The brunette glanced at Ashe, still looking at him with an amused expression. Christophe rolled his eyes but didn't fight off the goofy grin that appeared on his face. "You don't have to tell me, I know I look like a grub. But enough about that," he waves his hand. "How were your friends? I heard from Aunt Melissa that she saw you at the restaurant today with a friend. You enjoy yourselves?"

Ashe's eyes widened. "M-Mom was there? Today?" 

Christophe nodded, not commenting on his stutter if he noticed it. "Yeah, she was. Didn't she tell you?"

"Ah, no," he shook his head quickly. "It's just, I thought she was supposed to be home tonight, is all. I didn't see her at all."

"Huh," Christophe frowned but eventually shrugged. "Well, she was there, and I got a call from her a little while ago, as you two were leaving… so really only thirty minutes."

Digits ran through silver hair as Ashe contemplated Christophe's revelation. His mother. She was there. Of course _ ,  _ she was the one who paid for their meal. But did that mean she knew? She must have, it was only rational. Ashe's mind began to race about having to explain this whole situation to her amidst her inevitably squealing to the entire world about her little boy getting a cute girlfriend and that she has to meet her immediately. 

"Oh Goddess no," Ashe groaned, gripping the bridge of his nose between two fingers. Knowing his mother's big mouth, everyone would find out. Between Father, Christophe, Marco, Alyssa, he'd be the butt of their teasing for a week bare minimum; all in good fun, he knew they'd reassure him, but it wouldn't make him less embarrassed. 

"By the way," Ashe began, looking at the bag in his lap. "I thought you didn't like junk food?"

Christophe chuckled. "Well, when you're under house arrest and have too many food delivery services to count, things can change pretty quickly, y' know?"

Ashe fought back the urge to cringe, recalling the day the news broke out. It was utter chaos. He'd been called into the Principal, in effect, the Archbishop Rhea's office mid-class. Her right-hand man, Seteth, Catherine, and the members of the Seiros Security Force had gathered. Some of the officers shuffled out of the room when he arrived. Ashe was sat down promptly and had the situation explained to him by one Detective Pronislav and Commissioner Fraldarius- Rodrigue as he'd known him in any other context.

It was shocking and unbelievable even to begin to process. It meant that outside of the strict hours Christophe was allowed to work, he was mostly stuck at home until a verdict was passed down, damned to charges at best, or years of prison time at worst.

The image of Lonato, Christophe's father, his uncle, flashed to the forefront of his mind.

Ashe's fists balled, and Christophe got the message loud and clear, burger dropped onto his makeshift napkin, holding up his hands in mock surrender.

"Hey, hey, hey, I didn't get too much this time, see? Just a Big Mac, chips, water, and a salad if you can believe it," Christophe replied with an edge of sarcasm. He held up the empty salad bowl, then tossed a half depleted water bottle into the air, the bottle landing perfectly upright on the living room's rug. Christophe flashed a goofy grin, his teeth pearly white. Ashe's lack of a reaction made his cousin's smirk falter down to a small frown.

"...Not the time?"

Ashe frowned. "Christophe…"

"Alright, alright, I'll stop," the older man acquiesced, snatching up and eating the remainder of his burger and consuming it quickly "But really," he paused, tossing his rubbish into the bag and scrunching it up. "Better than the alcohol, right?"

Ashe cautiously nodded. Seeing his brother passed out drunk as often as he was the first few weeks he was placed in house arrest was not a pretty sight. "It is, but I'm not sure if buying Mcdonald's is going to help," cautiously said Ashe with the cross of his arms.

Christophe walked into the kitchen and dumped the bag into the bin. "It'll do for now. Besides, it's cheaper too."

"We have food right here at home, Christophe," Ashe huffed. "I know you can make something delicious for yourself. You did learn from Mom and Dad, after all."

Christophe glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. Then, he let out hearty chuckles he was hard-pressed to suppress. "You know, when you say it like that, you make it sound like you're going to make a great dad one day, Ashe. Maybe once you get a girlfriend, I'll let her know all your qualities and ticks that make you so act like such a dad. Might even score you some brownie points," Christophe beamed, caring little for subtlety.

Even though Ashe was sure Christophe didn't know anything about Petra, he could not prevent his mind from wandering to the idea of having kids with Petra one day as if he were directly talking about her.

_ No. No- _

"What about... ah, what's her name again? Petra, right? That girl from Brigid you met in your first year! You seemed kind of smitten with how much you talked about her when you started your first year. Whatever happened with that?"

Ashe blinked, then blinked again. He let what Christophe said to settle in just a little longer, heat creeping up face to the tips of his ears, his soul slowly leaving his body.

Just his luck.

"Goddess strike me down now," Ashe muttered under his breath, the heat making him feel a little dizzy. This time, Christophe took notice.

"Woah, woah, you OK, Ashe?" Christophe asked, alarmed, pressing the back of his hand against Ashe's forehead. "You're burning up. Did that jacket not do you any good?"

Ah, yes, that jacket. The jacket Christophe gave to him as a gift for his birthday. The jacket Petra had casually walked home with. The jacket she looked adorable in.

"No! It did!" Ashe reassured him, the crack in his voice, not helping his case. "It's just, uh," Ashe coughed into his elbow. "Please don't talk about her like that. It's weird. We're not anywhere near that sort of thing."

Extremely so. 

Christophe furrowed his brows. When the brunette connected the metaphorical dots-because Ashe didn't deny he was in a (fake) relationship to begin with-Christophe flashed a knowing smile, his eyes bearing into him with a mix of emotions Ashe couldn't put his finger on right away. 

"Right, right. I'm sorry, Ashe." Ashe could, to some extent, understand why he'd joked about it. It was a coping mechanism of some sort. It didn't help that his previous relationship with Catherine had gone up in smoke the way it did, especially with talks of marriage, kids, and rings now a thing of the past.

"It's OK, Christophe," reassured Ashe. He mindlessly pressed his hair back down after Christophe let his head go to distract himself, despite the fact he'd get bedhead halfway through his sleep regardless. 

"I wish I could say the same," said Christophe, his voice hollow as his mouth tilted up. He wanders back to the couch, fell into it, and slumped over. "Now go and get some rest, OK?" he advised Ashe, his tiny smile not faltering.

"Christophe…"

The man's gaze steadied. "It's fine. Really."

Ashe balled his fists in his pockets. "... OK. Goodnight, Christophe."

The brunette hummed, staring back at the TV's bright screen. "Night, Ashe," 

Ashe took his leave back up the hallway connecting the living room and kitchen, eyes fixated on his phone.

"Hey. Ashe."

He stopped mid-step and peeked his head back out to the living room. "Yes?"

Lonato's son didn't look at him, eyes glued to the TV.

"Do better than I did, OK?"

Ashe's heart dropped. Still, he forces his mouth to smile, grim as it may have looked.

"OK. I'll try, Christophe," Ashe says with a whisper. He trudged off to his bedroom, quickly changes into his pajamas, and collapses onto his bed into a deep sleep.

* * *

"Another day, another dollar," Ashe says to himself as he begins his usual morning routine. First, he wakes up and falls back asleep immediately, because it's summer break. Second, he wakes up again, and squints at the time lit up on his phone. It reads 9:00 and Ashe groans, his body in a strange limbo between needing to desperately fall asleep and staying awake. Ashe drags himself out of bed and slips his phone into his pant pocket. Third, Ashe stomps out of his room and into the bathroom, splashing water on his face to wash the itch of sleepy dust from his eyes, dark with rings still underneath them.

What almost breaks his morning routine is the sudden buzzing of his phone that makes him jump a little. He pulls out his phone and glances at his lock screen, a notification of a message from Ignatz staring at him.

_ Hey Ashe, sorry if I made things weird last night, I... _

Ashe shoved the phone in his pocket. He was too tired to overthink about last night.

At least he could say he didn't leave Ignatz on read. Technically. 

The straw that breaks the camel's back of his routine is a sudden, pleasant smell that wafts into the bathroom from the kitchen, the smell of eggs, bacon, and pancakes luring him almost subconsciously from the toilet and to the kitchen.

"Oh." Ashe blinks, a little surprised. "Good morning, everyone" Ashe still drones as he enters, and washes his hands thoroughly like it'd been drilled into him when he was a child. The eldest sibling takes a seat on a high chair on the opposite side of the bench where his mother stood, as she rations out his share of breakfast.

"Morning," his siblings reply with similar vigor. Their focus remains divided between digging into their breakfast and the TV, watching a tame animated adaptation of Fire Emblem: The War of the Eagle, Lion, and Deer.

Ashe felt nostalgia wash over him, recalling pleasant memories of watching the first animated series for the first time when he was but a child. It was a feeling he sorely missed but was glad to experience it second hand, seeing his siblings on the edge of their seats of the new animated series.

"Good Morning, Dear," his mother, Melissa Ubert, sweetly greets him in reply, her blonde morning hair swept up into a ponytail, and an apron with 'Kiss The Cook' draped over her pajamas. 

"I assume Dad's at the restaurant?" 

She slides a plate towards him, scrambled eggs, fried bacon, hash browns, and a small side of pancakes with a selection of toppings spread out before him. "Yep! Bright and early as usual, opening early with Dedue, Flayn, and our new hire Cyril. Now quickly eat up before it goes cold."

Ashe glances at the food and raises an eyebrow. "...Is there a special occasion?" He asks cautiously. Unfortunately, Christophe's surprise revelation is still fresh on his mind, and Ashe wonders if this is related. After all, she seldom cooks for Ashe himself, Ashe usually being the one to do so. His mother is (often) long gone by the time it's sunrise, readying the restaurant for opening hours by the time he begins to stir from his sleep.

"Not particularly," his mother says with the same tone previously. "Just felt generous this morning, is all."

"You're always generous, Mom. Are you sure there isn't anything going on?" Ashe refutes with a compliment, and her smile widens.

"Aww, how sweet! Thank you, Ashe," she coos and boops Ashe's nose. He playfully swipes at her finger with the fork from his plate, and his mother giggles at him when it hits her finger lightly. "But no, nothing is going on. Not right now anyway," she winks mischievously.

Ignoring the sinking feeling in his stomach and upon carefully placing the fork down, Ashe digs in, too eager to care to eat with the utensils provided, manners and mess be damned. 'At least the food was being eaten,' he'd tell himself. His mother looks on with amusement, then eyes the TV, silently watching it as his siblings babble along and sing with the ending theme song simultaneously dash for the sink to drop their plates to be washed, then up the hallway, giggling madly. 

"Are Marco and Alyssa, OK?" Ashe queries his mother curiously.

"You'll see. Give it a moment," Ashe's mother chuckles. Moments later, there's a loud thud in another room near the front of the house, loud, high-pitched squeals and laughs echoing down the hallway. His siblings dash down the hall madly to the back door leading outside, large water guns in hand, and Christophe appears moments later trailing after them, demanding they stop, his sleepy face partly soaked in water.

"Oh."

"Oh, indeed," she heartily laughs.

She snags a wooden stool and leans her chin on the palm of her hand. Her stare doesn't go unnoticed, the woman giving him one of 'those' looks.

"So?" she drawls out.

"So… what?" Ashe repeats. "I don't like that look you're giving me…"

The woman rolls her eyes. "So now that they're all gone, tell me about last night!" she says excitedly like a giddy school girl, face fixed with a grin so bright he almost had to squint. "Tell me, tell me! I didn't know you were going on a date with Petra! I'm so happy you picked her too. I haven't talked to her personally, but she sounds like she's so sweet!" Melissa Ubert coos. 

"I would've closed the store just so you two could have a nice candlelight dinner!"

Ashe coughs into his elbow from shock as his face burns up. "M-Mom, please, you don't have to go that far. And it wasn't a date. We were just hanging out," he unconvincingly explains to his mother, who, in typical motherly fashion, sees right through it.

"Right," she drawls out and playfully rolls her eyes. "Well, how about you tell me about your not-date instead?"

The eldest Ubert clears his throat, ignoring his mother's quip. "I-it was fine? Really Mom, there isn't much to talk about. We just talked about random stuff."

"Just talked about 'random stuff,' huh?" she muses. Her eyes squint at her son. "But I saw the way you two were looking at each other! You were getting all blushy and everything!" she grins once again. "You two even order from the couple's menu for goodness sake! What else am I supposed to interpret that as?"

Ashe wanted to bury his face in his hands. "Ignatz suggested it, Mom. Besides, it was cheaper, you should know, you did pay for it."

"Ah. Christophe told you, hm?" she said almost unimpressed, her sudden shift in tone, taking him by surprise.

Her irritated tone catches him off-guard. "Y-yeah. Why?"

"I told him not to say anything, but back on topic," she tapped the bench, insisting he continues.

"R-right. Well, I, or, we, __ didn't know that was on the menu until last night." He chews on another mouthful of a hash brown to distract himself from the conversation somehow. "Since when was that a thing on the menu anyway?"

Melissa cleared her throat. "Ah yes, well, you see, son, when a business gets lots of demand from the customer for a product or a service, the business usually has to meet those demands. That's what we call..."

"Supply and demand" Ashe finished for her, a little exasperated.

Understanding the message, his mother clears her throat. "I was sarcastic, Ashe. I know you already know this," she lightly ruffles his hair. 

"But yes, Mr. Victor. Always perfect with his timing for, well, just about anything really. He saved one of your drinks Annette dropped, you know! Quite impressive reflexes for someone who claims not to be a very active person." 

Before Ashe could process what his mother told him, she leaned over dramatically and cupped a hand over the side of her mouth. "Oh, you didn't hear this from me, but I heard from a certain someone that little miss Marianne was quite enamored by Igantz's performance. She couldn't take her eyes off him," his mother wiggles her eyebrows. Ashe replies with a silent, blank stare.

Mercedes. Absolutely Mercedes, he registers in his mind. Ever since the younger woman first was interviewed by his mother for a job, they instantly clicked and became quick friends, engaging in idle gossip like her mother was ten years younger than she was.

Still, if he ever wanted to get back at Ignatz to embarrass him utterly, there was an easy out. Between his odd friendship with Leonie and now Marianne? It was almost too easy. Not that he'd tease the poor artist for it, he was too nice for that, Ashe thinks to himself.

"Honestly," the blonde starts and calms down a little. "You should really thank Ignatz for it. You two gobbled those things up like you two were playing hungry hippos. You looked rather fulfilled and pleased by the time you left."

Ashe blinks, then laughs at her mother's odd, yet amusing metaphor. She always had a knack for those. "Hungry hippos? I never would've thought of that."

"You can thank your brother for that. Christophe tells me Marco called him a hungry hippo when ordering his share of Mcdonald's last night. Always has something witty to say, that one." Ashe was hardly surprised. Marco's silly quips made things a little bit brighter around the house. "Anyway, tell me more details! You can't leave your poor old mother in suspense like this! Since when did you get so close with that girl, Petra?"

"Mom…" Ashe grumbles the woman refusing to let up. He understood why, to some extent. Between her and Ashe's father, the two struggled to find a balance between spending time with them, their family, and with 'them,' their employees.

"Ashe!" Melissa Ubert complains and pouts at her son. "Please tell me? Pretty please? I'll try not to overreact, OK?"

Ah. She was doing the puppy dog eyes thing again- or trying to, at least- which meant it usually didn't work, and of course, this time was the exception.

_ 'She said she'd tried. Might as well give her a chance.' _

Slowly giving in to her demands, Ashe pushes the plate filled with half ate food aside. He sets his elbows on the bench and leans his face on clasped hands. 

_ 'Well. It shouldn't be all that bad. Only Mom knows, and Christophe only has a sneaking suspicion, correct as it is,' _ he contemplates internally and sighs.

"All we talked about was school stuff. And a little about the trip. Nothing really beyond that…"

"Uh, huh…" Melissa nods, her flat staring at him with high concentration, evidently expecting more out of him.

"But…" Ashe trails off. He thought over his next few words, but he knew better than to second guess himself. "We may have talked about…  _ us. _ "

The brown stool shifts along the kitchen's tile floor and makes an ugly sound as the older woman shifts closer to the bench. Her expression rises, the suspense killing her. "Go on…"

_ 'Just do it!'  _ Ashe yells at himself internally, a strained attempt to psyche himself up.

He clears his throat. "And we're a thing now, I guess. In a relationship. Boyfriend and girlfriend-"

His mother stands up and grins ear to ear and squeals. "Really?!" Ashe tries to confirm it again, but the sight of his Mom speedily rushing around to the other side of the kitchen bench shocks him, the woman scooping him up into a warm hug, the older woman squealing in delight. 

"Oh, congratulations, Ashe! I knew my handsome boy would end up with a pretty girl!" Ashe's Mom holds him in a tight embrace, Ashe's face filling back up with a deep blush at her obscenely loud proclamation. He knew this would happen, yet he still awkwardly embraces her again, his Mom's happy hum filling his ears. It would have been rather pleasant if not for her next proclamation.

"I can see it already. You two are going to have the  _ cutest _ babies together!"

"M-Mom! We're not even close to that!" sputters Ashe, his soul leaving his body for the second time in two days. He's relieved that Marco, Alyssa, and Christophe somehow didn't hear a word as they came back in, the kids partly covered in water, and Christophe drenched in it.

The three of them look at the hugging duo strangely. 

"Mommy? Is everything OK?" Alyssa, the older sibling amongst the two, asks first, Marco following up with similar sentiments moments.

The parent sniffles and pretends to break down into tears, wiping a crocodile tear out under her eye. 

"My baby boy is growing up faster than I realized," she fake sobbed. "Oh, where did the time go…?"

His siblings stare at them a little longer before there's a brief flash of an idea that appears on Marco's face.

Thankfully, Christophe sees this and aims two small water guns he materialized from out of nowhere, spraying his younger cousins in the face with water. The screaming from them drowns out his Mom. Christophe winks at Ashe and Aunt Melissa before disappearing outside to do battle once again.

Ashe pushes the blonde away, to her disappointment. "I thought you said you weren't going to overreact."

"I said I'd try, not I would," she specifies, a rueful smile surfacing on her face. "I'm sorry, Dear, I am really! But sometimes a mother can't help but be overjoyed for her child finding love. I've always loved a good romance, you know? It certainly helps that your father is quite romantic too."

Ashe shakes his head. Still, the corners of his lips pull up into a smile. "It's OK Mom, just-"

The intense buzzing of his phone in his pajamas pant pocket steals away his attention. Ashe pulls out the device and glances at what caused the buzzing to begin with.

The messenger icon pops up, its sender from the last person he'd ever expect to receive any manner of a message from, one Sylvain Gautier.

** Sylvain:  ** Hey buddy! Are you free this time next week?

He could hear Sylvain's voice distinctly as he read the message.

"Just a second," he murmurs confusedly, typing away a response.

** Ashe:  ** Yeah, I should be! Why do you ask?

His response is immediate.

** Sylvain:  ** Great! I appreciate this ashe, I really do

** Sylvain:  ** Dorothea and I are going to go to a little event together at kirstens, but we both got +1s better to use them than not, right? Dont worry, Ill pick you up from your place

** Sylvain:  ** and make sure you dress up nicely!

Ashe stares at the screen, scratching the side of this head. Kirsten's was the name of a large restaurant and hotel chain that recently expanded its business from beyond the borders of Leicester and Garreg Mach City and into Faerghus and Adrestia. The owner's son in the grade above him, Raphael, had blurted out something about possible expansions into Brigid, Dagda, Almyra, Duscur, Sreng, Albenia and Morfis. Still, Ashe wasn't privy to all the details beyond that.

His younger sister, Maya, had comically stern words for Raphael soon after. 

But what he did know is that Kirsten's was ridiculously high end. Whatever event Sylvain and Dorothea were to attend was undoubtedly related to the latter's mother, Manuela Casagranda's recent return to the music industry. It made massive headlines in Fodlan and beyond when it was formally announced.

** Ashe:  ** Sylvain, I didn't even say yes. And how nicely?

** Sylvain:  ** Wear your best suit. Seriously.

Ashe frowns.

The last time he wore a suit was… 

He pushes the memory away into the depths of his mind in a vain attempt to suppress it.

** Ashe:  ** I don't have one, and I don't think I'll be able to get one. 

** Ashe:  ** We barely get by as is. I'm sorry Sylvain, I appreciate the offer, but I'm sure someone else will take you up on it!

Sylvain's icon shifts downwards, indicating he's read the message but doesn't begin to type for several moments longer. In the blink of an eye, a new message pops up.

** Sylvain:  ** Even better! I'll meet you outside your house tomorrow at noon!

** Ashe:  ** I'm sorry?

** Sylvain:  ** You, Dimitri, Felix, and I are going on a shopping trip tomorrow! We'll find you the best suit Faerghus has to offer, and you'll be turning heads, I swear it.

** Ashe:  ** oh no no no Sylvain you don't have to

** Ashe:  ** and I never agreed to go

** Sylvain:  ** Too late! Noon sharp! Tomorrow!

Before Ashe could respond, the green dot next to Sylvain's profile picture disappeared, 'Active 1 minute ago' appearing under Sylvain's name.

Ashe closes his messages with Sylvain and clicks on Ignatz's message, immensely guilty for ignoring earlier. He reassures Ignatz that everything was fine between them and apologizes for the late reply. Ashe closes the messenger upon hitting send slides his phone onto the bench.

"What was that about?" Melissa asks curiously.

Ashe wonders for a moment if this has anything to do with Petra. It's ridiculous, but Sylvain mentioned Dorothea being able to take a plus one. The two are close friends, and gossip spreads very quickly amongst the students of Garreg Mach. He and Petra's supposed relationship would be no exception.

Of course, he dismisses the thought.

He looks to his Mom and shrugs.

"Honestly? I have no idea."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Melissa Ubert is just an exaggerated version of my own mother. Sorry mum, lol.
> 
> Honestly, I can't believe I did another 5K chapter and I barely moved the plot forward lmao. Well, if I ever do another chapter, I'll try and condense it. Honestly, I hope Ashe wasn't too ooc? Idk, I feel like I haven't been writing him correctly as of late, even ignoring the smut. Hopefully it's not too egregious. 
> 
> Also, yes, I know I switched tenses halfway through. I couldn't be bothered to change it lol.
> 
> Anyway, comments and kudos are appreciated as usual! Hope you all have a good one!


End file.
